The invention relates generally to the field of diagnostic medical imaging and more specifically, to non-invasive optical imaging.
In modern healthcare facilities, non-invasive imaging systems are often used for identifying, diagnosing, and treating physical conditions. Medical imaging typically encompasses the different non-invasive techniques to image and visualize the internal structures and/or functional behavior (such as chemical or metabolic activity) of organs and tissues within a patient. Currently, a number of modalities exist for medical diagnostic and imaging systems, each typically operating on different physical principles to generate different types of images and information. These modalities include ultrasound systems, computed tomography (CT) systems, x-ray systems (including both conventional and digital or digitized imaging systems), positron emission tomography (PET) systems, single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) systems, and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging systems.
Another imaging modality is optical imaging, which operates by transmitting light of certain wavelengths through a patient and generating an image based on the transmitted light. Different wavelengths of light, including near infrared wavelengths, may be used for optical imaging. Due to light absorption and scattering by the imaged tissue, optical imaging typically has relatively poor spatial resolution and anatomical registration. For example, when optical imaging is employed for cancer detection, the imaging technique suffers from low or reduced sensitivity and specificity. It may, therefore, be desirable to improve the spatial resolution obtained in optical imaging.